Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-12-24

athward thiss toripd desolntion we gained
the further gateway Of tho outer wall. and
havinc Given one more rlance Mt the hoar
and pillared n'Gi'etv through which we
had passed, and with the exception Of
job, for whom ruins had no charms)
breathed n sigh Of r'"re that we had not
bal more time TO explore Il. passed through
the great mOat, end on TO the Main beyond.
As the SUI rose 50 did Ayesha's spirits.
Till by breaefaSt-time they had reclaimed
their normal level, and She lauQhingly set
dcwn her previous repression to the ASSOC
c~iatioIls OF the sNot where she had slept.
"Thcse harbar'ans declare thst Kor ia
haunted. y she said, "and of q truth | do
believe their saving, for never did ! know
so i'll a nivht, save once. | remember it
now. 1t WIS on that very spot when thou
| didst lay deal NJ my feet, kallikrates.
Never viii visit it again; il is Il place of
evil omen"
After a verv brief hall for breakfast we
pressed on with such good will that bvtwo
O'Clock IN the afternoon we w"ra 1T the
foot of the WIS wall Of rock that formed
the lip OF the volcano. mi which nj this
potrt lowered IN Drecipitouslv above rs
for fifteen hrndrcd or two thousand feet.
Here we hated, certainly not to my as
constituent. for | did not see how it wav,
possible that we should go any further.
Nov" sail A~rSha, aS she descended
from her litter. doth oUr labor but com
mencc, Tor here do we part with these
men, and henccforward must we bear our
%splves;' AMI then, ad lresSing Rillali, "do
thon and these slaves remain here, and
abide onr coming. ~ tomorrow. AT the
Billali bowed humbly, and said that her
august bidding should BE- ohavei ii they
stopped there till they grew old"
And this man, oh, Holly" said She.
pointing to job: best is il that he should
tarry also, for il his heart be not high and
hlS InIlrn0rA vrnnf narGlaaDca n,,N, nxsi1
might overtake him. Also. the secrets Of
the place whittier we 20 are not fit for
common eyes
] translated this to Job, who instantly
md earnestly entreated me, almost with
tears in his eyes. not 10 leave him behind.
He said that he was sure that ne could see
nothing worse than he had already seen.
and that he was terrified TO death at the
idea of being left alone with those dumb
folk who, he thought, would probably
Il the opportunity TO hot-pot him.
translated what he said To Ayesha. who
shrugged her shoulders. and answered,
well, let him come, it il naught to me;
on his own head BE- it. and he will serve To
bear the lamp and this and she pointed
To a narrow plank, some sixteen feet long.
which had been bouni above the long
bcaring-pole of her hammock. rs | had
thought to make the curtains spread out
better. but, rs it now appeared, for some
unknown purpose connected with our *
t~raordinary undertaking.
Accordingly, the plank. which, though
tough, was very light, was given To job. to
carry, and also one of the lamps. | slung
the other on to my back, together with a
spare jar of oil, while Leo loaded himself
with provisions and some water in a kids
skin. When this was done, She bade Bill
lali and the six bearer mutes to retreat be-
hind Il grove of towering magnolias, about
a hundred yards away, and remain there
under the pain OF death till we had vanish
ed. They bowed humbly and went, and,
as he departed, old Billali gave me a friend
~ shake OF the hand, whispered that he
had rather that it was ! han he who was
going on this wonderful expedition with
".ShC-ChO-muSt-be-ObC and upon my
word | felt inclined 10 agree with Linn. In
another minute they were gone, and then,
having briefly asked Us If we were ready,
AyeSha turned and gazed up the towering
cliff.
Goodness me, Leo" / said, surely we
are not going to climb that"
Leo shrugged his shoulders, being in n
condition OF half-fascinated, ~half-expectant
myStiiication, and, as he did so, Ayesha
witt a sudden move began TO climb the
elf, and of course we had to follow her.
IL was perfectly marvellous to see the ease
and grace with which she sprung from
rock 10 rock, and swung herself along the
ledgcS. The ascent was not, however, SO
difficult as it looked, although there were
one or two nasty places where 1t did not do
to look behind you, the fact being that the
rock still sloped here, and was not abSo-
lulely preclpltOls as 1t was higher up. In
this wa we, witt no great laoor, mounted
to n height of some nifty feet above our
asst standing place, the only really rouble-
some thing 10 manage being JOBS board,
and IN doinr so drew some fifty or siytv
paccs TO the loft Of orr starting point. for
we went I'D like n crab, sideways. Pres
emily we reached n lodge, narrow enough
~ first, hnt which widencd rs we followed
T.. and what Is more, stoned inward Ike
tho natal Of n flower. 60 that rs we followed
r. we gradually got into n kind of rut or
fold of rock that grew decnor and dcencr,
til Mt last it r~esomblpd n Devonshire lane
IL stone. and hid MS perfectly from the
oaZe Of ANYBODY on the slope below, If
there had been ANYBODY to gaze. This lane
(which appeared to he n natural fOrmalon)
continued for some fifty or sixty p1ces. and
then Suddenly ended IN acave, also natural,
running ut right ANGLES TO IL. ! am sure
tina il was Il natural cave. and not hOl-
lowed bv the hind Of man, because of its
irregular and contorted shane and course,
| which cave ii the appearance Of having
been blown bodily in the mountain by
some frightful ERUPTION of gas following
the line OF the least resistance. All the
caves followed bv the ancientS Of kor, on
the contrary. were cut out with the most
pprfpct REGULARITY and symmetry. At the
mouth OF this rave Ayesha halted. and
bad ms light the two LAMPS. which / did,
pivinr ono to her and keeping the other
mvsalf. Then taking the lead she adj
vanced down the cavern. picking her way
with great care. as indeed IL was necessary
TO do. for the floor was most Irregular
strawn with powders like the bed Of n
stream. and in some places pitted with
deep holes, in which it would have been
| ooGy tp hrpok oup'S loo
This cavern we pursued for twenty MIN
utes or more, IL being, SO far az | could
form n jUdFmcnt-owing to it's numerous
twists and turns. no easy task-about a
quarter of a nile long.
AT last, however. we halted Mt its further
end, md whilst ! was still irving to pierce
the gloom n great gust Of air came tearing
down il. and ox~tinguished both the lamps.
Ayesha called To rs. N we crept mp to
her, for she was n little in front, and were
reward led with n view that vas positively
appalling in It's gloom and grandeur, Be
fore us was n mighty chasm in the black
rock. Jagged and torn and splintered
THROUGH it in n far past age by some awful
convulsion OF nature. as though it had beer
cleft bv stroke mon stroke OF the lightning
This chasm. which wa bounded by a pre-.
cipice on the hither, and presumably
though we could not see IL, on the further
side also. may have measured any width
across. but from its darkness do not think
that II can have been very broad. II was